wild Marty-the Paddle- Colorful appearance and pedal operated paddle wheels keep Marty’s admirers standing in line for another ride OU may want just one of these paddle- Y sine! fun-abouts to help the children enjoy their vacation and to take you and Mom down the shore in the evening to visit vacation-land neighbors. Or, you may decide to build a flock of these attractive ducks to brighten up your resort—and its bank ac- count too. In either case, you'll find that Marty is especially safe for children because of built- in Styrofoam flotation that will support 1000 Ibs. by itself. And, also, that the construction is easy on the pocketbook because it does not If you can get Marty away from the kids for awhile, you'll enjoy using it as much as they will and get your exercise at the same time. require marine-grade lumber, paint, or fas- tenings. Begin Construction by laying out and cut- ting one of the pontoon sides to shape (Fig. 3A) on a bandsaw. Use knot-free pine or fir, or, if you wish, you can order and use 10-ft. lengths of AC-grade exterior fir plywood. Use the first side as a pattern to lay out three more identical pieces. Next cut seven 16¥4-in. cross frames and a nose piece (Fig. 3) for each pontoon. Use a waterproof glue and flathead (fh) wood- screws to assemble the sides and cross framesWheeling Mallard as in Fig. 2A. Set the nose piece in place temporarily and trace the curve of the sides on each end of it. Then set your bandsaw table at an angle to rough out the nosepieces and finish them with a wood rasp after as- sembly. Cut the 18-in.-wide bottom planks (Fig. 2A) for each pontoon from ¥4-in. plywood. To use stock 8-ft. lengths of plywood, splice the bottom planks at the centerline of any cross frame. Coat the mating surfaces of the planks, framing, and sides with glue and at- tach the planks, best-side outside, using #8 x1-in. fh woodscrews spaced 3 in. apart. Lubricate the threads of the screws with bar soap and use a push-type screwdriver, if available, to drive the screws. Set the heads about 442 in. below the surface to allow them to be concealed with wood putty before painting. ‘When the bottom plank is in place, give the interior a coat of sanding sealer such as Firzite, being careful to avoid coating areas that are to be glued later. For maximum safety, you can now place a 7x 20-in. x 9-ft. billet of Styrofoam (Fig. 4) in each hull, sliding it through the transom opening. These foamed-plastic billets will add structural strength to the pontoons and, even in the case of damage to both hulls, will sup- port many times the weight of. two adults. When finished, attach the top plank in the same way as you did the bottoms. Then lay out the transoms (Fig. 2A) by tracing the outline of the stern opening of each pontoon on %-in. plywood and cut and attach them. Next, join the pontoons with two 66-in. lengths of 2x4 stock. Drill %c-in. lead holes at an angle from each edge of the crossmem- bers as in Fig 6A and secure them with glue and #12x2%4-in. fh screws. Install the for- ward crossmember (Fig. 3B) after beveling it to match the curve of the pontoons. Give the entire as- sembly a coat of sand- ing sealer and, when dry, two coats of your choice of porch-and- deck enamel. Paddle Wheels. Lay out and cut the four paddle-wheel discs (Fig. 2B) from 3%-in. plywood and drill a %-in. hole in the cen- ter of each. Then cut the hardwood spokes (Fig. 2) and the Y%4-in. plywood blades (Fig. 2C). Assemble these parts with glue and use #10 x 1%-in. fh screws to join the discs and spokes and #8 x Lin. screws to attach the blades. Seal and paint the paddle-wheel assem- blies before further assembly in the same way as you did the pontoons. When dry, center and attach a %4-in. pipe flange over the axle holes on each side of the paddle wheels. Also attach a 1-in. pipe flange to each side of the paddle wheel sprocket with machine bolts, hacksawing the excess length from the bolts and peening them slightly to prevent loosening. Complete the paddle-wheel as- sembly as in Fig. 2E, adding a reducing bush- ing and a 2-in. nipple to each side of the sprocket before attaching the paddle wheels. Screw a 4- to 5-in. length of 34-in. pipe into the flanges on the outboard side of each wheel and cut these to fit inside the inner